anyhow

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ís?

Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Indo-European *h₁oy-no-kós

Proto-Germanic *ainagaz

Proto-West Germanic *ainag

Old English ǣniġ

Middle English ani

English any

Proto-Indo-European *kʷ-

Proto-Indo-European *kʷís

Proto-Germanic *hwō

Old English hū

Middle English how

English how

English anyhow

From any +‎ how.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɛn.i.haʊ/, /ˈæn.i.haʊ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊ

Adverb

anyhow (not comparable)

1. (manner) In any way or manner whatever.
2. (conjunctive) In any case. Used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement.

   Anyhow, he is dead now.

   I think they’re asleep; anyhow, they’re quiet.

3. Without care or tidiness; recklessly, negligently or randomly.
   • 1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle:

     It was a woman’s clothing, beyond a doubt, all thrown in anyhow, — as if the person who had placed it there had been in a desperate hurry.

4. (Singapore, Singlish, by extension) Thoughtlessly, randomly, without careful consideration.

   Compare Hokkien 亂／乱 (loān) and 四散 (sì-sòaⁿ).

   • 1994, Michael Chiang, “Private Parts”, in Private Parts & Other Play Things, →ISBN, page 270:

     No lah! Don’t anyhow say! But you also look so different, Vasoo. First time I’ve seen you without your uniform!

   • 2024, Jojo Chia, Afternoon Yuan Yang Club, Epigram Books, →ISBN:

     Don’t anyhow, please. Told you guys he’s just a friend.

Adjective

anyhow (not comparable)

1. (Singapore, Singlish, predicative) Random, careless, offhand, disorderly; done without thought or consideration.

   Synonym: (Singapore, vulgar) half-fuck

   • 2022 January 25, Jean Wong, Cassandra Nerva, Jerald Ang, “34 Singlish Phrases to Know Before Visiting Singapore”, in tripzilla.com‎^[1], archived from the original on 30 September 2024:

     Rabak, to refer to something messed up: Eh bro, your hairdresser anyhow sia, your hair damn rabak.

   • 2024 December 13, gwbasic, “Is it all the food influencers cannot make it?”, in HardwareZone Forums:

     Even the newspaper recommendation oso anyhow one.

Synonyms

• (in any way or manner, carelessly): any old how
• (in any case): anyway, anyhoo, anywho; see also Thesaurus:regardless

Derived terms

• anyhow whack (Singlish)

Translations

in any way, in any manner

• Basque: edonola
• Bulgarian: както и да е (kakto i da e), така или иначе (taka ili inače)
• Catalan: en qualsevol cas, de qualsevol manera, tot i així (ca)
• Dutch: hoe dan ook, in ieder geval
• Esperanto: iel (eo)
• Finnish: miten tahansa, tavalla tai toisella, keinolla millä hyvänsä
• French: de toute manière (fr), de toute façon (fr), en tout cas (fr)
• German: irgendwie (de)
• Greek: όπως και να έχει (ópos kai na échei)
• Hebrew: בְּכָל אֹפֶן (b'chol ófen)
• Hungarian: akárhogy (hu), akárhogyan (hu), bárhogy (hu), bárhogyan (hu)
• Italian: in ogni caso (it), in ogni modo, in qualche modo, in qualsiasi modo, comunque (it), come capita
• Japanese: とにかく (ja) (tonikaku), 何しろ (ja) (なにしろ, nani-shiro)
• Latin: saltem
• Maltese: kulkif
• Māori: ahakoa he aha
• Persian: در هر حال, در هر صورت
• Polish: jakkolwiek (pl), w jakikolwiek sposób
• Portuguese: de qualquer modo, de todo modo
• Russian: так и́ли ина́че (ru) (tak íli ináče)
• Sanskrit: समह (sa) (samaha)
• Spanish: de todas maneras (es), de todas formas (es), comoquiera, al tuntún (es), al voleo, sin ton ni son
• Swedish: hur som helst (sv)
• Telugu: ఎలాగైనా (te) (elāgainā)

in any case — see in any case

carelessly — see carelessly

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} oricum (ro)
• Urdu: بَہَرْحال (baharhāl)

Anagrams

• anywho